Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-01-01

' ASHlNGION, u. ", >
THE PATROL WAGON.
An Institution Which Has Increased
the Efficiency Of the Police.
| TAKING PRISONERS TO THE srArroN.HousI ANp
INJURED PERSONS 10 TIE HosYIrAL-PRoPoeED
EXTENSION OF TIE sYsTEM-THE PoIICEMAH's
HOURLY REPORT By TELEPHONE.
Nowadays, when policeman arrests a man on
the street, instead OF taking him to the police sta
ton he takes him to q signal box In course OF
tlne IL Is expected that ito box" a man will be-
come regularly recognized verb in the slang vo-
caOuiary. The boxes, which are now familiar
OBJECTS on the street corners in several Of the po
nce precincts. are little Octagonal sentry houses
OF sheet iron, built around lamp posts and having
conical roofs II one watched at one of these cor
ners for any length Of time he would probably see
policeman saunter up to the box, open the door,
partly disappear inside the box for moment, then
emerge again, lock the door and saunter Off. He
was making his hourly report to the station Per-
maps the spectator might also see an oHlcer come
| struggling
TOWARDS THE Box
with man helplessly drunk or a fighting virago.
When he reaches the box he deity opens the door,
thrusts his hand inside, and then waits, holding
fast to his prisoner while the inevitable crowd col
hOofs, and then O wagon drawn by q strong horse
PUSHES up to the box. A policeman in the wagon
in thu the fSe horse IS whipped up and
the wagon starts on: Policeman No. adjusts his
collar and cuffs and saunters away in search Of
other malefactors. Inside the box one will see q
lttle crank or lever to pull, and also telephone
receiver and transmitter. II he were In the pre-
in one corner telephone and also registering
tape or rOlOf narrow white paper passing under an
instrument. When the policeman pulls down a
house. which is registered and informs the olicer
incharge ut just what box the Oficer is signalling
THE PATROL WAGON,
which is kept ready for instant use with horse in
harness, is despatched at once. Each hour the
police officer on beat Is expected TO report his
presence somewhere on his beat through q signal
box. This he does by means of the telephone, and
the officer at the station makes record some
fns nka mis- e smi,h sspers
awake. If the record 81 pws shat he -
Made No REPORT
at certain hour be has to give satisfactory
reason for the omission. II disturbance rob
berry or other occurrence on Officer Smiths beat
station that off1cer Is notified when he makes his
hourly report through the signal box II the
olcer Is ID need OF assistance he can always get
to the box by citizen who has sense enough TO
use 1t. II an accident occurs on the street the
patrol wagon at once becomes an ambulance. It
has seats on the side with soft cushions, and can
be used either for the transport OF prisoners for
conveying to hospital some person MANNED in an
accident or an ARRAY.
WHAT COMMISSIONER wHRArLEY SAYS.
''The system is an admirable one" said District
Commissioner Wheatley, speaking OF the police
signal and telephone system; "it has already
added great deal to the efficiency OF the force OF
police In the precincts where it is in operation BY
this system prisoners are taken to the station
house quickly, and an officer VINO makes an arrest
does not have to leave his beat uncovered while
he conducts his man to the station house. The
system has been in operation for some time in the
f1rSt fourth and sixth precincts, and we are ar
ranging TO place it In the second and Nth pre-
cincts We have asked for an appropriation for
that purpose. great advantage OF the system
is that it makes it possible In short time to con-
centrate the reserve force at one point In OF
any serious disorder this is important. Then In
sections Of the city where necessarily the police
beats are very large, the citizens living signal
boxes, to whom Keys OF the boxes are entrusted,
6ecoe valuable a%xiares OF the police In case
policeman, the citizen can give the signal and in
few moments the patrol wagon will come"
OPERATIONS FOR ONE YEAR.
report made OF the operation Of the patrol
service during the last fiscal year In the
nth precinct states that 81, 1868 calls were
made made BY ers reporting from Their
and received; 33l calls by officers from signal
boxes for the wagon, and % such calls from citf-
zens and answered by the patrol wagon. There
were 123 calls for the wagon from headquarters.
and 800 miscellaneous calls. The patrol wagon
was used in aiding the force in great many OF its
incidental duties. A report Of operations in the
seventh precinct during the fifteen months ending
by officers from the boxes; 1913 calls by Officers
and tt calls by citizens for the wagon from boxes
One hundred and ten casualties were reported
through boxes, and many incidental duties were
performed with the aid OF the patrol wagon or the
boxes.
Superintendent Miles, of the police and fire alarm
police signal and patrol system was no longer an
experiment.. Its value had been proved. He
throughout the Whole district, covering all the
police precincts. Then he said, the efhc1ency Of
the system would gradually be increased. by in
creasing the number OF signal boxes in each pre-
cinct, and also the number OF patrol wagons. At
present there Is only one patrol wagon In each
precinct, and IN case OF two calls coming about
answering one OF them.
THE BOSTON SYSTEM.
Recently in Boston an experiment has been
made with similar system, and the Official
reports made there commend the operations OF
the system very highly. Two advantages are
claimed for the system by the company that has
supplied Boston. One OF these Is the absence OF
boxes" and the presence of the outside or citizens
key, a turn OF which calls for aid. Instead of
sentry boxes the Boston system provides small
boxes like fireaarm boxes to be attached as fire
alarm boxes are, to the sides Of houses. The
''cittzens key when turned, calls. the patrol
wagon, without requiring the citizen to open the
box. superintendent Miles, speaking OF the
different systems, said he did not consider the
sentry box disadvantage, nor the key movement
an advantage. AS 1t Is, police Ofdcer can. by
closing his box, be able to send q telephone
message TO the statian-house without bawllng it
out before the public. The key movement he said,
was some years ago applied to fire-alarm boxes
and found to be undesirable, as persons having
other keys sometimes inserted them into the boxes
and turned In false alarms. He did not think the
second two required to open the box practically
amounted 70 anything. There was, too, he said,
an objection in this city to placing alarm boxes on
houses and attaching the wires to houses COM
missioner Wheatley, who has considered the
advantages OF the various cities, said he did not
think the Boston system possessed any advantages
over that In use here, although washington was
year in advance Of Boston In adopting such q
system.
A ssLabOr Struggled
From the Christian Union.
When moved to my summer country home q
few years ago soon noticed q little cottage on q
rough hillside OvprlOOktng a hrOok which csod